U.S. patent application number 16/709898 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-16 for techniques for detecting malicious behavior using an accomplice model.
This patent application is currently assigned to RISKIQ, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is RISKIQ, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jonas Edgeworth, Nick Goodman, Adam Hunt, Chris Kiernan, Joseph Linn, Elias Manousos, David Pon.
Application Number | 20200120133 16/709898 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 60409400 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-16 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200120133 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hunt; Adam ; et al. |
April 16, 2020 |
TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTING MALICIOUS BEHAVIOR USING AN ACCOMPLICE
MODEL
Abstract
The present disclosure generally relates to web page analysis,
and more particularly to detecting malicious behavior using an
accomplice model. In certain embodiments, the accomplice model may
determine that a URI is associated with malicious behavior based
upon the URI being associated with an attribute determined to be
related to malicious behavior. Examples of an attribute include a
host system, a domain, or an element of a document used to render
the web page. Examples of an element of a document used to render
the web page may include an active/dynamic element (e.g., a
function, a script, etc.) or an inactive/static element (e.g., a
string, a number, a frame, a tracking username, a social networking
username, etc.).
Inventors: |
Hunt; Adam; (El Cerrito,
CA) ; Linn; Joseph; (Emeryville, CA) ;
Goodman; Nick; (San Mateo, CA) ; Manousos; Elias;
(San Francisco, CA) ; Kiernan; Chris; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Pon; David; (Sunnyvale, CA) ;
Edgeworth; Jonas; (San Francisco, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RISKIQ, Inc. |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
RISKIQ, Inc.
San Francisco
CA
|
Family ID: |
60409400 |
Appl. No.: |
16/709898 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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15803736 |
Nov 3, 2017 |
10505981 |
|
|
16709898 |
|
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62417228 |
Nov 3, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/951 20190101;
H04L 67/02 20130101; H04L 63/1441 20130101; G06F 16/24578 20190101;
H04L 63/0236 20130101; H04L 63/14 20130101; H04L 67/306 20130101;
H04L 63/1433 20130101; H04L 63/168 20130101; G06F 16/955 20190101;
G06F 21/56 20130101; H04L 63/1483 20130101; H04L 63/101
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; G06F 16/2457 20060101 G06F016/2457; G06F 16/955
20060101 G06F016/955; G06F 16/951 20060101 G06F016/951 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: creating a list of Uniform Resource
Identifiers (URIs) used to render a web page; comparing each URI in
the URI list to an accomplice list, the accomplice list includes a
plurality of URIs determined to be associated with malicious
content or behavior along with an associated reputation score for
each URI in the plurality of URIs; upon identifying that a
particular URI in the URI list is also in the accomplice list and
that a reputation score associated with the particular URI exceeds
a threshold value: creating a blacklist incident for the URI; and
outputting that the particular URI is associated with malicious
behavior.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit as a Continuation of
U.S. application Ser. No. 15/803,736, filed Nov. 3, 2017, which
claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/417,228,
filed Nov. 3, 2016 the entire contents of the foregoing are hereby
incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 120. The applicant(s) hereby rescind any disclaimer
of claim scope in the parent application(s) or the prosecution
history thereof and advise the USPTO that the claims in this
application may be broader than any claim in the parent
application(s).
BACKGROUND
[0002] As the Internet becomes more widespread, new features are
constantly being added to increase communication between systems.
However, these new features are often hidden from the view of
users. For example, rendering a web page of a website within a
domain may include (1) a request for a resource from a different
domain, (2) executing a script (e.g., JavaScript) in the web page
that causes a communication to be sent to a different domain,
and/or (3) a redirection to a different web page hosted on a
different domain. As a result, a final state of a web page is often
what is deemed as malicious. However, identifying the final state
of the web page as malicious may miss a source of the malicious
behavior when there is a different web page that is used by several
web pages during rendering, the different web page being the true
source of the malicious behavior. Therefore, there is a need in the
art to detect sources of malicious behavior.
SUMMARY
[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to web page
analysis, and more particularly to detecting malicious behavior
using an accomplice model.
[0004] In certain embodiments, the accomplice model may determine
that a URI is associated with malicious based upon the URI being
associated with an attribute determined to be related to malicious
behavior. Examples of an attribute include a host system, a domain,
or an element of a document used to render the web page. Examples
of an element of a document used to render the web page may include
an active/dynamic element (e.g., a function, a script, etc.) or an
inactive/static element (e.g., a string, a number, a frame, a
tracking username, a social networking username, etc.).
[0005] In some embodiments, the accomplice model may cause a web
crawl to be initiated. During the web crawl, a URI corresponding to
a web page may be identified. The URI may then be used to obtain a
document to render the web page. The document (e.g., an HTML
document) may include one or more instructions that cause a web
page to be rendered. To render the web page, the document may be
parsed, causing one or more additional URIs to be called during the
rendering process. At some point during or after the document is
parsed, the web page may be determined to be malicious. In response
to the web page being determined to be malicious, each URI that was
called to render the web page may be added to a blacklist sequence
(sometimes referred to as a list). Accordingly, the blacklist
sequence may include multiple URIs used to render the malicious web
page.
[0006] The process described above regarding the web crawl may be
performed multiple times, with different web crawls beginning at
the same URI or different URIs. Thus, multiple blacklist sequences
may be generated for the same or different sequences of URI that
were called that resulted in a malicious URI being called.
Comparing the multiple blacklist sequences, an attribute may be
identified that is reoccurring in a URI among the multiple
blacklist sequences.
[0007] Based upon a number of times the attribute reoccurs in at
least one URI in different blacklist sequences, a score may be
generated for the attribute. The score may indicate a likelihood
that the attribute is associated with malicious behavior. In some
examples, the score may be further based upon a number of times
that a web crawl causes a URI with the attribute to be called
without the web crawl resulting in the generation of a blacklist
sequence (i.e., none of the URIs called during the web crawl were
identified as malicious). In such examples, the score may be
generated based upon a Wilson score interval to prevent attributes
from being identified as malicious the first few times that they
are identified in a blacklist sequence (e.g., that there is
statistical support that the attribute is more often bad than not).
In some examples, the score may be further based upon an amount of
time since a web crawl that included a URI with the attribute
resulted in the generation of a blacklist sequence. In such
examples, the amount of time may be temporal or based upon a number
of web crawls run.
[0008] The score may be compared to a threshold that indicates
whether the attribute is malicious. When the attribute is
determined to be malicious, a URI in the blacklist sequence may be
determined to be malicious and output. Output of the URI may be to
a user to inform the user that the URI is malicious. In some
examples, output of the URI may be to a system that either removes
code that causes the URI to be called or, if the attribute is an
element of a document used to render a web page, the attribute may
be removed from the document. The URI that is determined to be
malicious may be referred to as a malicious redirector.
[0009] In one illustrative example, a web page may include multiple
frames, each frame with content from a different host. In such an
example, the content from each different host may be associated
with a web page and be determined to be malicious. Embodiments
described above may identify the web page as being associated with
malicious behavior even though it is actually the frames that are
malicious. Therefore, such embodiments allow the diagnosis of web
pages, hosts, and domains that are upstream from a malicious actor
to be identified as associated with malicious behavior.
[0010] This summary is not intended to identify key or essential
features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be
used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject
matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to
appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent,
any or all drawings, and each claim.
[0011] The foregoing, together with other features and examples,
will be described in more detail below in the following
specification, claims, and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are
described in detail below with reference to the following drawing
figures.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a network
analytic system according to an embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a process for determining
a measure of malicious activity according to some embodiments.
[0015] FIG. 3 is an example of a user interface for displaying a
blacklist sequence according to certain embodiments.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a computing system
and a client computing system usable to implement some
embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The present disclosure generally relates to web page
analysis, and more particularly to detecting malicious behavior
using an accomplice model.
[0018] In certain embodiments, the accomplice model may determine
that a URI is associated with malicious based upon the URI being
associated with an attribute determined to be related to malicious
behavior. Examples of an attribute include a host system, a domain,
or an element of a document used to render the web page. Examples
of an element of a document used to render the web page may include
an active/dynamic element (e.g., a function, a script, etc.) or an
inactive/static element (e.g., a string, a number, a frame, a
tracking username, a social networking username, etc.).
[0019] In some embodiments, the accomplice model may cause a web
crawl to be initiated. During the web crawl, a URI corresponding to
a web page may be identified. The URI may then be used to obtain a
document to render the web page. The document (e.g., an HTML
document) may include one or more instructions that cause a web
page to be rendered. To render the web page, the document may be
parsed, causing one or more additional URIs to be called during the
rendering process. At some point during or after the document is
parsed, the web page may be determined to be malicious. In response
to the web page being determined to be malicious, each URI that was
called to render the web page may be added to a blacklist sequence
(sometimes referred to as a list). Accordingly, the blacklist
sequence may include multiple URIs used to render the malicious web
page.
[0020] The process described above regarding the web crawl may be
performed multiple times, with different web crawls beginning at
the same URI or different URIs. Thus, multiple blacklist sequences
may be generated for the same or different sequences of URI that
were called that resulted in a malicious URI being called.
Comparing the multiple blacklist sequences, an attribute may be
identified that is reoccurring in a URI among the multiple
blacklist sequences.
[0021] Based upon a number of times the attribute reoccurs in at
least one URI in different blacklist sequences, a score may be
generated for the attribute. The score may indicate a likelihood
that the attribute is associated with malicious behavior. In some
examples, the score may be further based upon a number of times
that a web crawl causes a URI with the attribute to be called
without the web crawl resulting in the generation of a blacklist
sequence (i.e., none of the URIs called during the web crawl were
identified as malicious). In such examples, the score may be
generated based upon a Wilson score interval to prevent attributes
from being identified as malicious the first few times that they
are identified in a blacklist sequence (e.g., that there is
statistical support that the attribute is more often bad than not).
In some examples, the score may be further based upon an amount of
time since a web crawl that included a URI with the attribute
resulted in the generation of a blacklist sequence. In such
examples, the amount of time may be temporal or based upon a number
of web crawls run.
[0022] The score may be compared to a threshold that indicates
whether the attribute is malicious. When the attribute is
determined to be malicious, a URI in the blacklist sequence may be
determined to be malicious and output. Output of the URI may be to
a user to inform the user that the URI is malicious. In some
examples, output of the URI may be to a system that either removes
code that causes the URI to be called or, if the attribute is an
element of a document used to render a web page, the attribute may
be removed from the document. The URI that is determined to be
malicious may be referred to as a malicious redirector.
[0023] In one illustrative example, a web page may include multiple
frames, each frame with content from a different host. In such an
example, the content from each different host may be associated
with a web page and be determined to be malicious. Embodiments
described above may identify the web page as being associated with
malicious behavior even though it is actually the frames that are
malicious. Therefore, such embodiments allow the diagnosis of web
pages, hosts, and domains that are upstream from a malicious actor
to be identified as associated with malicious behavior.
[0024] An accomplice list may be a statistical model that assigns a
reputation score to URLs, hosts, domains and attributes commonly
associated with malicious content or behavior. When there are
multiple one-time-use hosts redirecting to a malicious page in the
blacklist sequence chain, the accomplice list has the ability to
identify these indirect connections. It works by examining all the
URLs in a blacklist sequence looking for the reoccurrence of
indicators anywhere in the chain. The model compares the number of
times a host or domain appears in a blacklist sequence where the
blacklist resource has exact "correlation type" to the number of
times we've crawled that host and assigns a score to the URL. In
some examples, the reputation score isn't a simple ratio of these
two numbers. In such examples, a lower bound of the Wilson Score
confidence interval may be used to provide a conservative estimate
of the probability that the URL is malicious. An exponential decay
factor may also be multiplied to the lower confidence interval
based on the last time the host or domain was blacklisted and the
last time we crawled it. The decay half life we have selected is 7
days. If the difference between the last time the host was crawled
and the last time it generated a blacklist incident was 7 days, the
score assigned to the URL is half of what it would be had the host
been blacklisted the last time it was crawled. If the URL under
examination has an accomplice list reputation score of 15 or
higher, the system will create a blacklist incident. The accomplice
list may also be segmented by known profile based on the known
profile of the original blacklist incidents. This may include
malware, phishing, spam and scam. When a host or domain is found on
the accomplice list, a blacklist item may be created on the
appropriate blacklist. This allows users to filter out known
profile types for which they are not interested or do not apply.
The accomplice list can provide an overall score in the cases where
the host has been implicated in a number of threat types. This
score overall score is not used if it equal to the more specific
known profile score. Host and domain reputation may be available.
Additional ability includes to detect malicious addresses, tracking
IDs and social media profile usernames. By using the probability a
URL should be blacklisted given the hostname and the probability of
the hostname given an attribute, the hostname may be marginalized
to estimate the number of times an attribute appeared in a
blacklist sequence. In order to be as accurate as possible, the
calculation also may include the time interval when the host was
blacklisted and the time interval when we detected that attribute
on the host overlap. Model may include headers, cookies, web
components and other indicators in addition to tacking IDS and
social media profile usernames. Even if the page being examined has
multiple indicators (e.g. host, domain, address and attributes),
the model may provide one score per known profile. In other
examples, a Bayesian network model that can take into account
multiple indicators at the same time may be used. The Bayesian
network model may include probability tables that can learned using
a variety of Machine learning algorithms or entered in manually.
The process that calculates the reputation scores may be performed
once per day.
I. Exemplary Distributed System
[0025] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of distributed system
100 according to certain embodiments. Distributed system 100 is not
intended to suggest any limitation as to scope of use or
functionality of described embodiments.
[0026] Distributed system 100 may include one or more client
systems 104 (referred to herein as "client system" or "client") and
network analytic system 120. Network analytic system 120 may be
implemented by a computing system. Client system 104 may be
operated by one or more users (e.g., user 102), such as a network
analyst whose role it is to assess network activity and to
determine possible malicious events related to the network
activity.
[0027] Client system 104 may present a user interface (e.g., a
graphical user interface or a command prompt), or a combination
thereof to a user. The user interface may be generated by client
system 104, received from network analytic system 120, or a
combination thereof. The user interface may be updated or modified
by client system 104 or network analytic system 120 in response to
one or more interactions by the user with the user interface.
[0028] The user interface may be provided by network analytic
system 120 via network 108 as part of a service (e.g., a cloud
service) or application. For example, network analytic system 120
may expose an application programming interface (API) such that the
API may be used as the user interface. For another example, a
graphical user interface, such as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, may
be provided. In some embodiments, client system 104 may provide
access to one or more applications 106 ("app"). App 106 may enable
a user to access and perform services provided by network analytic
system 120.
[0029] Client system 104 and network analytic system 120 may be
communicatively connected via one or more communication networks
108. Examples of communication networks include, without
restriction, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area
network (LAN), an Ethernet network, a public or private network, a
wired network, a wireless network, and the like, and combinations
thereof. Different communication protocols may be used to
facilitate the communications including both wired and wireless
protocols such as IEEE 802.XX suite of protocols, TCP/IP, IPX, SAN,
AppleTalk, Bluetooth.RTM., and other protocols.
[0030] Network analytic system 120 may be implemented using a
computer system (such as illustrated in FIG. 5), which may comprise
one or more computers and/or servers which may be general purpose
computers, specialized server computers (including, by way of
example, PC servers, UNIX servers, mid-range servers, mainframe
computers, rack-mounted servers, etc.), server farms, server
clusters, distributed servers, or any other appropriate arrangement
and/or combination thereof. The computing system that makes up
network analytic system 120 may run any operating system or a
variety of additional server applications and/or mid-tier
applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers,
Java servers, database servers, and the like. Exemplary database
servers include without limitation those commercially available
from Microsoft, and the like. In one example, network analytic
system 120 may be included in or implemented with a product
provided by RiskIQ.RTM. Corporation. In some embodiments, network
analytic system 120 may be implemented with or included in any of
the systems incorporated by reference, such as the systems
described in a patent or patent application referenced in this
disclosure. In various embodiments, network analytic system 120 may
be configured to run one or more services or software applications
described in the foregoing disclosure. Network analytic system 120
may correspond to a computing system for performing processing as
disclosed herein according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0031] In some embodiments, network analytic system 120 may be
implemented as an enterprise computing system or a cloud computing
system comprising one or more computers and/or servers that may
include those described above. Network analytic system 120 may
include several subsystems and/or modules, including some, which
may not be shown. For example, network analytic system 120 may
include network data handler 130, graphical interface manager 132,
and network data analyzer 136. Network analytic system 120 may have
more or fewer subsystems and/or modules than shown in the figure,
may combine two or more subsystems and/or modules, or may have a
different configuration or arrangement of subsystems and/or
modules. Subsystems and modules of network analytic system 120 may
be implemented in software (e.g., program code, instructions
executable by a processor), firmware, hardware, or combinations
thereof. In some embodiments, the software may be stored in a
memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium), on a
memory device, or some other physical memory and may be executed by
one or more processing units (e.g., one or more processors, one or
more processor cores, one or more GPUs, etc.).
[0032] In certain embodiments, network analytic system 120 may also
provide other services or software applications may include
non-virtual and virtual environments. In some embodiments, these
services may be offered as web-based or cloud services or under
Software as a Service (SaaS) model to the users of client system
104. The services offered by network analytic system 120 may
include application services. Application services may be provided
by network analytic system 120 via a SaaS platform. The SaaS
platform may be configured to provide services that fall under the
SaaS category. The SaaS platform may manage and control the
underlying software and infrastructure for providing the SaaS
services. By utilizing the services provided by the SaaS platform,
customers may utilize applications executing in network analytic
system 120, which may be implemented as a cloud infrastructure
system. Users may acquire the application services without the need
for customers to purchase separate licenses and support. Various
different SaaS services may be provided. Users operating client
system 104 may in turn utilize one or more applications to interact
with network analytic system 120 to utilize the services provided
by subsystems and/or modules of network analytic system 120.
[0033] Network analytic system 120 may include at least one memory,
one or more processing units (or processor(s)), and storage. The
processing unit(s) may be implemented as appropriate in hardware,
computer-executable instructions, firmware, or combinations
thereof. Computer-executable instructions or firmware
implementations of the processing unit(s) may include
computer-executable or machine-executable instructions written in
any suitable programming language to perform the various
operations, functions, methods, and/or processes disclosed herein.
The memory in network analytic system 120 may store program
instructions that are loadable and executable on the processing
unit(s), as well as data generated during the execution of these
programs. The memory may be volatile (such as random access memory
(RAM)) and/or non-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash
memory, etc.). The memory may be implemented using any type of
persistent storage device, such as computer-readable storage media.
In some embodiments, computer-readable storage media may be
configured to protect a computer from an electronic communication
containing malicious code. The computer-readable storage media may
include instructions stored thereon, that when executed on a
processor, perform the operations disclosed herein.
[0034] Distributed system 100 may also include or be coupled to one
or more data sources 170, which may be implemented using any type
of persistent storage device, such as a memory storage device or
other non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some
embodiments, local storage may include or implement one or more
databases (e.g., a document database, a relational database, or
other type of database), one or more file stores, one or more file
systems, or combinations thereof. For example, distributed system
100 may be coupled to or may include one or more data sources, such
as DNS data sources 172, WHOIS data sources 174, SSL data sources
176, malware data sources 178, and domain registration data sources
180. The memory and the additional storage are all examples of
computer-readable storage media. For example, computer-readable
storage media may include volatile or non-volatile, removable or
non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for
storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data
structures, program modules, or other data. The data sources 170
may be accessible by network analytic system 120 using network
108.
[0035] Distributed system 100 may also include or be coupled to
additional storage, which may be implemented using any type of
persistent storage device, such as a memory storage device or other
non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some
embodiments, local storage may include or implement one or more
databases (e.g., a document database, a relational database, or
other type of database), one or more file stores, one or more file
systems, or combinations thereof. For example, distributed system
100 may be coupled to or may include one or more data stores, such
as network data store 134. The memory and the additional storage
are all examples of computer-readable storage media. For example,
computer-readable storage media may include volatile or
non-volatile, removable or non-removable media implemented in any
method or technology for storage of information such as
computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules,
or other data. The data store 134 may be accessible by network
analytic system 120 using network 108.
[0036] Distributed system 100 may include one or more network
domains (e.g., an Internet domain), such as domain 140 and domain
150. Each domain may be implemented by a host system, which
implements a domain name server (DNS) for the domain. The DNS may
maintain a directory of domain names and translate, or resolve them
to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Domain 140 may include a host
computing system 142. Host computing system 142 may stores records
144 to implement a DNS for domain 140. Domain 140 and domain 150
may, be mapped (e.g., via DNS) to one or more IP addresses. Domain
150 may include a host computing system 152. Host computing system
152 may store records 154 to implement a DNS for domain 150. Domain
140 may be communicatively connected to network 108 via an access
network. Domain 150 may be communicatively connected to network 108
via an access network.
[0037] It should be noted that although not shown in FIG. 1, each
of domain 140 and domain 150 may include one or more sub-domains.
Each domain may also be a sub-domain of a larger domain. A domain
may map to one or more IP addresses (e.g., via DNS), where each IP
address is associated with a host (e.g., a host computing system).
A host or host system as referred to herein may include one or more
domains, and one or more IP addresses associated with each domain.
As used herein, a host may include general purpose computers, as
well as other devices, that have an IP address.
[0038] Distributed system 100 may implement one or more techniques
for identifying attributes and/or URIs as associated with malicious
behavior, as described further below. The techniques may be useful
for tracking and analyzing network infrastructure for network-based
assets. Such assets may be owned or associated with an entity
(e.g., a company or network domain). Examples of network-based
assets include, without restriction, domains, hosts, domain name
system (DNS) name servers, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, IP
address blocks, mail servers, secure sockets layer (SSL)
certificates, web servers, web pages, cookies, and particular files
(e.g., advertisements, videos, etc.).
[0039] Individual embodiments may be described as a process which
may be depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow
diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a
flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many
of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In
addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process
is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have
additional steps not included in a figure. A process may correspond
to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram,
etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may
correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or
the main function.
[0040] The processes disclosed herein may be implemented in
software (e.g., code, instructions, program) executed by one or
more processing units (e.g., processors cores), hardware, or
combinations thereof. The software may be stored in a memory (e.g.,
on a memory device, on a non-transitory computer-readable storage
medium). For example, network analytic system 120 may implement the
processes disclosed herein. Any of the processes may be implemented
as a service to a user of network analytic system 120.
[0041] The particular series of processing steps disclosed herein
are not intended to be limiting. Other sequences of steps may also
be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example,
alternative embodiments of the present disclosure may perform the
steps outlined above in a different order. Moreover, the individual
steps may include multiple sub-steps that may be performed in
various sequences as appropriate to the individual step.
Furthermore, additional steps may be added or removed depending on
the particular applications. One of ordinary skill in the art would
recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.
[0042] The one or more techniques for determining relationships
between network-based assets for network infrastructure analysis.
The techniques may be useful for tracking and analysis of network
infrastructure for network-based digital assets. Such assets may be
owned or associated with an entity (e.g., a company or network
domain). Examples of network-based digital assets include, without
restriction, domains, hosts, domain name system (DNS) name servers,
Internet protocol (IP) addresses, IP address blocks, mail servers,
secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates, web servers, web pages,
cookies, and particular files (e.g., advertisements, videos,
etc.).
[0043] The one or more techniques may include determining a
configuration for each of one or more crawl processes to gather
data about network-based assets. The process may include receiving
a crawl configuration via one or more interfaces. The interfaces
may be generated by graphical interface manager 132 and provided to
a client system for presentation. One or more crawl processes may
be determined based on the crawl configuration(s). Crawl processes
may be generated using one or more instructions (e.g., code or
script). Crawl processes may be implemented to search networks,
e.g., the Internet, for network-based assets according to a crawl
configuration. In some embodiments, a crawl process may be
implemented starting with one or more network-based assets as a
source (e.g., a target network-based asset) from which to initiate
a crawl process. The source may be chosen based on input by a user.
The source as the basis for a crawl may be based on one or more
network-based assets that are identified as being malicious, such
as by techniques disclosed in U.S. Non-provisional application Ser.
No. 14/938,802 entitled "IDENTIFYING PHISHING WEBSITES USING DOM
CHARACTERISTICS" and filed on Nov. 11, 2015, in U.S.
Non-provisional application Ser. No. 14/938,814 entitled "USING
HASH SIGNATURES OF DOM OBJECTS TO IDENTIFY WEBSITE SIMILARITY" and
filed on Nov. 11, 2015, and in U.S. Non-provisional application
Ser. No. 15/787,654 entitled "HOST PAIR DETECTION" and filed on
Oct. 18, 2017. Each of the above-identified applications are
considered part of this disclosure and are incorporated herein by
reference for all purposes.
[0044] The crawl processes may be implemented in or using a
discovery and inventor process, such as for discovery and inventory
system disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser.
No. 14/520,029 filed on Oct. 21, 2014 and entitled "SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING INTERNET-FACING ASSETS." The
above-identified application is considered part of this disclosure
and is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Network
data handler 130 may implement processes to generate and/or
identify network data. In some embodiments, the process may include
network data handler 130 gathering data from data sources 170
corresponding to network-based assets identified during a crawl
process. The crawl processes may be implemented according to a
schedule that is part of the configuration. The crawl process is a
dynamic process by which web pages of network-based assets are
dynamically rendered at the time when the crawl process is
implemented.
[0045] In at least one embodiment, a crawl process may be
implemented using techniques for crawling one or more sources, such
as a web page of a host. The crawl process may be implemented to
traverse through a source, such as a web page to identify different
network-based assets and the relationships between those assets.
The crawl process may include executing a function in a document
for rendering web pages, such as a redirect link, an image
retrieval function, a script (e.g., JavaScript), or other function
of a network-based asset. The crawl process may be configured to
determine the extent to which relationships are identified and
traversed. In some embodiments, a crawl process may be restricted
so as to not overburden and/or notify a malicious network-based
asset of crawling that might lead to detection of malicious
behavior. A crawl process may include performing any of the
techniques disclosed herein for crawling.
[0046] In some embodiments, a crawl process may include processing
data of network-based assets and rendering elements of a web page
for a network-based asset. Any function in a web page of a web site
that is crawled may be rendered. Network-based assets may be
identified to the extent defined by a crawl configuration. A web
page may be rendered according to a model (e.g., a document object
model). Active code and frames in a web page may be rendered.
Redirects in a web page may be followed. Images and functions in a
web page may be obtained or activated. The crawl process may
monitor and log information about network-based assets identified
in the crawl process. The data may be updated as crawl processes
are scheduled to be repeated.
[0047] The process may include determining attributes, including,
without restriction, frequency based on occurrence of a
relationship, similarity between network-based assets that are
identified as being related, the nature of the relationship (e.g.,
parent and child), a type of link (e.g., a cause of the
relationship), any other information about a relationship between
assets, similarity of neighbors that are related to an asset, or
combinations thereof. The factors may be weighted based on the
asset which is analyzed for relationships. The measure of a
relationship may be based on one or more measures, such as a mean
(e.g., a harmonic mean) of the factors and the weights assigned to
each of those factors. The relationships between assets may be
computed based on a request by a user with respect to any
network-based asset. More weight may be applied to assets that have
been previously identified as malicious. Information about
previously identified malicious assets may be considered in
determining a relationship using the crawl process.
[0048] The process may use graphical interface manager 132 to
generate and provide interfaces to display information about
classifications. The interfaces may be provided as part of an
application. The application may be provided as a service or code
to a client system. The interfaces may provide information about
analysis of the web pages such as malicious behaviors and patterns.
The malicious behavior may be presented as a suspect list or
blacklists. The malicious behavior may be combined with other
previously identified malicious behavior to provide a more
comprehensive analysis of network security threats.
[0049] In at least one embodiment, a graphical interface may be
provided to present a "heat map" displaying network data for a time
period. The data in the heat map may be displayed according to
techniques disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
62/274,741 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/309,937,
which are considered part of this disclosure and are incorporated
herein by reference for all purposes. The graphical interface may
include or enable access to a graphical interface ("Host Pairs")
for displaying information about derived host pairs identified by
network analytic system 120. The underlying network data displayed
in the graphical interface of FIG. 3 may correspond to identified
host pairs. The graphical interface may present information
indicating a measure (e.g., a reputation score) of malicious
network activity for resources identified as having a relationship
of possible malicious activity. The graphical interface may be
presented in addition to or along with the graphical interfaces in
Appendix B. The resources may be identified as having a
relationship based on one or more indicators (e.g. host, domain,
address and attributes). The resources may be presented based on a
relationship with one or more indicators, such as a network asset.
For example, a graphical interface may be presented to show
resources that are related and one or more measures of malicious
network activity for those resources. The measure of malicious
network activity may be generated as indicated with reference to
FIG. 2. Resources may be displayed with a measure of malicious
activity and one or more indicators based on which the measure is
determined. In some embodiments, a heat map may be displayed that
indicates the measure of malicious activity between related
resources and the indicators corresponding to the measure.
II. Processes for Determining a Measure of Malicious Activity of
Network-Based Assets
[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart 200 of a process for
determining a measure of malicious activity according to some
embodiments. The process may be implemented by system 100. For
example, a network analytic system (e.g., network analytic system
120 of FIG. 1) may perform processes for determining a measure of
malicious activity. The techniques disclosed herein may be
implemented in a system disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional
application Ser. No. 15/787,654 entitled "HOST PAIR DETECTION" and
filed on Oct. 18, 2017. For example, the techniques disclosed
herein may be implemented to determine a score indicating a
relationship between network assets (e.g., a pair of hosts). The
score may be used to derive a relationship between network assets
based on web crawling.
[0051] The techniques disclosed herein can be modified by one
skilled in the art to determine a relationship between any type of
network-based assets. Individual embodiments may be described as a
process which can be depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a
data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram.
Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential
process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or
concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be
re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are
completed, but could have additional steps not included in a
figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a
procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process
corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a
return of the function to the calling function or the main
function.
[0052] The processes disclosed herein may be implemented in
software (e.g., code, instructions, program) executed by one or
more processing units (e.g., processors cores), hardware, or
combinations thereof. The software may be stored in a memory (e.g.,
on a memory device, on a non-transitory computer-readable storage
medium). For example, network analytic system 120 of FIG. 1 may
implement the processes disclosed herein. Any of the processes may
be implemented as a service to a user of network analytic system
120.
[0053] The particular series of processing steps disclosed herein
are not intended to be limiting. Other sequences of steps may also
be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example,
alternative embodiments of the present disclosure may perform the
steps outlined above in a different order. Moreover, the individual
steps may include multiple sub-steps that may be performed in
various sequences as appropriate to the individual step.
Furthermore, additional steps may be added or removed depending on
the particular applications. One of ordinary skill in the art would
recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.
[0054] Flowchart 200 may begin the process at 210 by receiving a
list (sometimes referred to as a blacklist sequence) of Uniform
Resource Identifiers (URIs) used to render a malicious web page. In
one illustrative example, the blacklist sequence may be generated
by a web crawler. The web crawler may receive a request to render a
web page corresponding to a URI. The web crawler may retrieve a
document for rendering the web page using the URI. The web crawler
may then parse the document, causing one or more additional URIs to
be called. At some point, the web page may be determined to be
malicious (e.g., techniques disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional
application Ser. No. 15/625,877 entitled "USING HASH SIGNATURES OF
DOM OBJECTS TO IDENTIFY WEBSITE SIMILARITY" and filed on Jun. 16,
2017, and techniques disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional application
Ser. No. 15/801,247 entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR CLASSIFYING A WEB PAGE
BASED UPON FUNCTIONS USED TO RENDER THE WEB PAGE" and filed on Nov.
1, 2017; each of the above-identified applications are considered
part of this disclosure and are incorporated herein by reference
for all purposes). In response, the blacklist sequence may be
generated to include each URI called while parsing the document
(i.e. the URI and the one or more additional URIs).
[0055] In some examples, the blacklist sequence may be a set of
resources that have been identified as malicious ("blacklisted")
for possible malicious activity. The set of resources may include,
without limitation, an electronic document, an application, a web
page, a file, data, or combinations thereof. Each of the resources
may be identified as a location, such as a uniform resource
identifier (URI).
[0056] In some examples, the set of resources may be identified as
part of a sequence of resources that are malicious by detecting
malicious behavior with respect to the resource. For example, the
set of resources may be URLs in a blacklist sequence of resources.
Each in the set of resources may be detected as having malicious
behavior at a web page accessible by the URL of the resource. In
other examples, each in the set of resources may be detected as
having malicious behavior based on reputation (e.g., a message from
a system) provided by a provider of access to the resource. Each of
the resources may be identified as malicious by identification of a
relationship with other resources in the set. For example, the set
of resources may be identified as being malicious based on a
process implemented using techniques disclosed in U.S.
Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/787,654 entitled "HOST PAIR
DETECTION" and filed on Oct. 18, 2017. The set of resources may be
identified as related to a network asset. For example, a host of
each in the set of resources may be identified as having a
relationship.
[0057] FIG. 3 is an example of a user interface for displaying a
blacklist sequence according to certain embodiments. The blacklist
sequence may include three URIs (e.g., first URI 310, second URI
320, and third URI 330). First URI 310 may be a URI that a web
crawl began at (referred to as a URI in FIG. 2). Indication 312
indicates a function called while parsing a document for rendering
a web page corresponding to first URI 310. Second URI 320 may be a
URI that was called while parsing the document. Indication 322
indicates that a cause of third URI 330 being called is unknown.
For example, third URI 330 may be a URI that was called while
parsing either the document or another document for rendering a web
page corresponding to second URI 320. Third URI 330 may be
determined to be malicious. For example, a web page corresponding
to third URI 330 may be determined to be malicious.
[0058] Referring back to FIG. 2, at 220, an attribute is identified
that is associated with (1) a URI in the list (e.g., google
analytics id, social media profile) or (2) the malicious web page
(e.g., inline JavaScript that is executed in the web page).
Examples of an attribute include a host, a domain, an Internet
Protocol (IP) address, or an element included in a document used to
render a web page. The element may be an active/dynamic element or
a non-active/static element. An example of an element include a
function, a tracking ID, or a social media profile username. In the
example depicted in FIG. 3, the attribute may be first URI 310, a
host system that hosts first URI 310, a domain of first URI 310, a
referrer of first URI 310, a cause of first URI 310, the function
depicted in indication 312, an output of the function, any code
included in the function, second URI 320, a host system that hosts
second URI 320, a domain of second URI 320, a referrer of second
URI 320, a cause of second URI 320, a path from prior for second
URI 320, third URI 330, a host system that hosts third URI 330, a
domain of third URI 330, a referrer of third URI 330, a cause of
third URI 330, a path from prior for third URI 330, any combination
described above, including an order of any combination.
[0059] In some examples, the attribute may create its own pairing.
For example, the pairing may include the attribute paired with a
network-based asset. Examples of pairings include: "Google analytic
id, malicious host," "Social profile, malicious host," and "Top
level host for webpage, malicious host." If a pairing is found in
multiple blacklist sequences,
[0060] At 230, a metric is determined based upon whether the
attribute is associated with one or more other lists of URIs. For
example, the metric may a number of the one or more other lists
including at least one URI that is associated with the attribute.
For another example, the metric may include a time since the
attribute has been associated with a most recent list of the one or
more lists (e.g., how recently the attributes has been associated
with a malicious behavior). For another example the metric may be a
number of times that a malicious URI has been crawled. For another
example, the metric may include number of distinct host pairs that
the URI/resource has been observed in, where a host pair is a
statistical combination of any two resources in a crawl sequence.
It should be recognized that one or more metric examples described
herein may be combined into a single metric or used as separate
metrics.
[0061] At 240, a score is calculated for the attribute based upon
the metric. The score may be calculated as a simple ratio of a
number of lists associated with the attribute and a number of web
pages generated for purposes of identifying lists. In some
instances, such a score may classify a host that appears in the set
of resources as the one and only time it was crawled as malicious.
Therefore, in some embodiments, the score may be calculated using
one or more algorithms. For example, the score may be calculated
using a Wilson score interval to determine a conservative score
indicating malicious activity. The score may be calculated as a
lower bound of the Wilson interval.
[0062] In some examples, a weight may be applied to the score based
on one or more factors. For example, the weight may be an
exponential decay factor (e.g., calculating the score may be
further based upon an amount of time since the attribute has been
included in a blacklist sequence). The score may be weighted based
on the one or more factors. For example, the score may be
multiplied by the decay factor. The exponential decay factor may be
defined as a specific number of days during which a network asset
was crawled and an when an malicious incident was detected for an
indicator (e.g., a network asset). For example, the decay factor
may be 7 days. A different weight for the decay factor may be
applied to the score based on consideration of the decay factor. In
the last example, when the difference between the last time a
network asset was crawled and the last time network asset was
detected as being associated with malicious incident was 7 days,
the weight may be 0.5, or half of the score. Thus, a score may be
modified based on application of a weight.
[0063] At step 250, the attribute is classified as malicious based
upon the score. For example, the score may be compared to a
threshold to determine whether the threshold is satisfied (e.g.,
exceeded or not exceeded). An indicator may be associated with a
malicious incident for the set of resources for the indicator when
the threshold is satisfied. For example, if the score is 15 or
higher, a malicious incident may be associated with the set of
resources for the score based on the indicator.
[0064] In some embodiments, a score may be based on a scale of 0 to
100, such that the score indicates a measure of maliciousness. If
the score is 25, then the score may be indicative that the
resources for which the score is determined are identified with an
indicator such as a host or a domain that is malicious 25% of the
time. However, the score may indicate, for example, that if we
crawled the host 100 more times, at least 25 out of 100 times we
would flag it as malicious. The score can also means that the last
time we crawled it, it was flagged. Using the Wilson interval, the
score may provide a confidence indication of 99%.
[0065] At 260, a URI associated with the attribute may be
identified in the list. At 270, an indication that the identified
URI is associated with malicious behavior is output. In some
examples, outputting may include adding the identified URI to an
accomplice list, which is used to identify one or more URIs that
have been determined to be associated with malicious behavior.
[0066] In some embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein can be
used to detect malicious resources (e.g., URLs), tracking IDs,
social media profile usernames, headers, cookies, web components
and other indicators. By analyzing the probability a URL should be
blacklisted given the hostname and the probability of the hostname
given an attribute, the hostname may be marginalized to estimate
the number of times an attribute appeared in a blacklist sequence.
The calculation may be based on a time interval (e.g., a decay
factor) between when the host was blacklisted and when the
attribute was detected on the host overlap.
[0067] In some examples, a single URI may be associated with one or
more scores (e.g., one per attribute). In certain examples, the
score may be a maximum score of the one or more scores. In other
examples, a Bayesian network model can be generated to take into
account multiple scores at the same time. The Bayesian Network
model may include probability tables that can be learned using a
variety of Machine learning algorithms or entered in manually.
[0068] A process may include receiving a blacklist sequence. The
blacklist sequence may include multiple Uniform Resource
Identifiers (URIs), each URI called when rendering a first web
page. In the blacklist sequence, a first URI may be determined to
be malicious and a second URI may not be determined to be
malicious.
[0069] In one illustrative example, the blacklist sequence may be
generated by a web crawler. The web crawler may receive a request
to render a web page corresponding to a URI. The web crawler may
retrieve a document for rendering the web page using the URI. The
web crawler may then parse the document, causing one or more
additional URIs to be called. At some point, a first URI called by
the web crawler may be determined to be malicious. In response, the
web crawler may cause the blacklist sequence to include each URI
called while parsing the document before the first URI is called.
When the first URI is the URI corresponding to the web page, every
URI called to render the web page may be included in the blacklist
sequence. In some examples, when the first URI is determined to be
malicious, each other URI in the blacklist sequence might not have
been determined to be malicious.
[0070] In some examples, the blacklist sequence may be a set of
resources that have been identified as malicious ("blacklisted")
for possible malicious activity. The set of resources may include,
without limitation, an electronic document, an application, a web
page, a file, data, or combinations thereof. Each of the resources
may be identified as a location, such as a uniform resource
identifier (URI).
[0071] The set of resources may be identified as part of a sequence
of resources that are malicious either by detecting malicious
behavior with respect to the resource. For example, the set of
resources may be URLs in a blacklist sequence of resources. Each in
the set of resources may be detected as having malicious behavior
at a web page accessible by the URL of the resource. Each in the
set of resources may be detected as having malicious behavior based
on reputation (e.g., a message from a system) provided by a
provider of access to the resource. Each of the resources may be
identified as malicious by identification of a relationship with
other resources in the set. For example, the set of resources may
be identified as being malicious based on a process implemented
using techniques disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser.
No. 15/787,654 entitled "HOST PAIR DETECTION" and filed on Oct. 18,
2017. The set of resources may be identified as related to a
network asset. For example, a host of each in the set of resources
may be identified as having a relationship.
[0072] The process may also include identifying an attribute
associated with the second URI. The second URI may be a URI of the
plurality of URIs that is not determined to be malicious. Examples
of an attribute include a host, a domain, an Internet Protocol (IP)
address, or an element included in a document used to render a web
page. The element may be an active/dynamic element or a
non-active/static element. An example of an element include a
function, a tracking ID, or a social media profile username.
[0073] The process may also include identifying a first number. The
first number may include a number of blacklist sequences that
include a URI that is associated with the attribute. The process
may also include identifying a second number. The second number may
include a number of web pages rendered that (1) cause a URI
associated with the attribute to be called and (2) did not call a
URI determined to be malicious.
[0074] The process may also include calculating a score for the
attribute based upon the first number and the second number. The
score may be calculated as a simple ratio of the first number and
the second number. In some instances, such a score may classify a
host that appears in the set of resources as the one and only time
it was crawled as malicious. Therefore, in some embodiments, the
score may be calculated using one or more algorithms. For example,
the score may be calculated using a Wilson score interval to
determine a conservative score indicating malicious activity. The
score may be calculated as a lower bound of the Wilson
interval.
[0075] In some examples, a weight may be applied to the score based
on one or more factors. For example, the weight may be an
exponential decay factor (e.g., calculating the score may be
further based upon an amount of time since the attribute has been
included in a blacklist sequence). The score may be weighted based
on the one or more factors. For example, the score may be
multiplied by the decay factor. The exponential decay factor may be
defined as a specific number of days during which a network asset
was crawled and an when an malicious incident was detected for an
indicator (e.g., a network asset). For example, the decay factor
may be 7 days. A different weight for the decay factor may be
applied to the score based on consideration of the decay factor. In
the last example, when the difference between the last time a
network asset was crawled and the last time network asset was
detected as being associated with malicious incident was 7 days,
the weight may be 0.5, or half of the score. Thus, a score may be
modified based on application of a weight.
[0076] The process may further include determining the attribute is
malicious based upon the score. For example, the score may be
compared to a threshold to determine whether the threshold is
satisfied (e.g., exceeded or not exceeded). An indicator may be
associated with a malicious incident for the set of resources for
the indicator when the threshold is satisfied. For example, if the
score is 15 or higher, a malicious incident may be associated with
the set of resources for the score based on the indicator.
[0077] In some embodiments, a score may be based on a scale of 0 to
100, such that the score indicates a measure of maliciousness. If
the score is 25, then the score may be indicative that the
resources for which the score is determined are identified with an
indicator such as a host or a domain that is malicious 25% of the
time. However, the score may indicate, for example, that if we
crawled the host 100 more times, at least 25 out of 100 times we
would flag it as malicious. The score can also means that the last
time we crawled it, it was flagged. Using the Wilson interval, the
score may provide a confidence indication of 99%.
[0078] The process may further include in response to determining
that the attribute is malicious, outputting an indication that the
second URI is malicious.
[0079] In some embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein can be
used to detect malicious resources (e.g., URLs), tracking IDs,
social media profile usernames, headers, cookies, web components
and other indicators. By analyzing the probability a URL should be
blacklisted given the hostname and the probability of the hostname
given an attribute, the hostname may be marginalized to estimate
the number of times an attribute appeared in a blacklist sequence.
The calculation may be based on a time interval (e.g., a decay
factor) between when the host was blacklisted and when the
attribute was detected on the host overlap.
[0080] In some examples, a single URI may be associated with one or
more scores (e.g., one per attribute). In certain examples, the
score may be a maximum score of the one or more scores. In other
examples, a Bayesian network model can be generated to take into
account multiple scores at the same time. The Bayesian Network
model may include probability tables that can be learned using a
variety of Machine learning algorithms or entered in manually. The
process described here may include similar limitations to that
described in FIG. 2. Some steps may be switched out, combined, and
modified in the process here and the process in FIG. 2. Some
definitions used in FIG. 2 may be used for the process here (and
vice versa).
III. Computer Systems for a Network Analytic System and a Client
System
[0081] Various operations disclosed herein may be implemented on
computer systems, which may be of generally conventional design.
FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of a representative
computing system 402 and client computing system 404 usable to
implement certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In various
embodiments, computing system 402 or similar systems may implement
network analytic system 120, or any other computing system
disclosed herein or portions thereof. Client computing system 404
or similar systems may implement client system 104, or other client
systems disclosed herein.
[0082] Computing system 402 may be one of various types, including
a handheld portable device (e.g., an iPhone.RTM. cellular phone, an
iPad.RTM. computing tablet, a PDA), a wearable device (e.g., a
Google Glass.RTM. head mounted display), a personal computer, a
workstation, a mainframe, a kiosk, a server rack, or any other data
processing system.
[0083] Computing system 402 may include processing subsystem 410.
Processing subsystem 410 may communicate with a number of
peripheral systems via bus subsystem 470. These peripheral systems
may include I/O subsystem 430, storage subsystem 468, and
communications subsystem 440.
[0084] Bus subsystem 470 provides a mechanism for letting the
various components and subsystems of server computing system 404
communicate with each other as intended. Although bus subsystem 470
is shown schematically as a single bus, alternative embodiments of
the bus subsystem may utilize multiple buses. Bus subsystem 470 may
form a local area network that supports communication in processing
subsystem 410 and other components of server computing system 420.
Bus subsystem 470 may be implemented using various technologies
including server racks, hubs, routers, etc. Bus subsystem 470 may
be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or
memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a
variety of bus architectures. For example, such architectures may
include an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel
Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics
Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) bus, which may be implemented as a Mezzanine bus
manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1 standard, and the like.
[0085] I/O subsystem 430 may include devices and mechanisms for
inputting information to computing system 402 and/or for outputting
information from or via computing system 402. In general, use of
the term "input device" is intended to include all possible types
of devices and mechanisms for inputting information to computing
system 402. User interface input devices may include, for example,
a keyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse or trackball, a
touchpad or touch screen incorporated into a display, a scroll
wheel, a click wheel, a dial, a button, a switch, a keypad, audio
input devices with voice command recognition systems, microphones,
and other types of input devices. User interface input devices may
also include motion sensing and/or gesture recognition devices such
as the Microsoft Kinect.RTM. motion sensor that enables users to
control and interact with an input device, the Microsoft Xbox.RTM.
360 game controller, devices that provide an interface for
receiving input using gestures and spoken commands. User interface
input devices may also include eye gesture recognition devices such
as the Google Glass.RTM. blink detector that detects eye activity
(e.g., "blinking" while taking pictures and/or making a menu
selection) from users and transforms the eye gestures as input into
an input device (e.g., Google Glass.RTM.). Additionally, user
interface input devices may include voice recognition sensing
devices that enable users to interact with voice recognition
systems (e.g., Ski.RTM. navigator), through voice commands.
[0086] Other examples of user interface input devices include,
without limitation, three dimensional (3D) mice, joysticks or
pointing sticks, gamepads and graphic tablets, and audio/visual
devices such as speakers, digital cameras, digital camcorders,
portable media players, webcams, image scanners, fingerprint
scanners, barcode reader 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser
rangefinders, and eye gaze tracking devices. Additionally, user
interface input devices may include, for example, medical imaging
input devices such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance
imaging, position emission tomography, medical ultrasonography
devices. User interface input devices may also include, for
example, audio input devices such as MIDI keyboards, digital
musical instruments and the like.
[0087] User interface output devices may include a display
subsystem, indicator lights, or non-visual displays such as audio
output devices, etc. The display subsystem may be a cathode ray
tube (CRT), a flat-panel device, such as that using a liquid
crystal display (LCD) or plasma display, a projection device, a
touch screen, and the like. In general, use of the term "output
device" is intended to include all possible types of devices and
mechanisms for outputting information from computing system 402 to
a user or other computer. For example, user interface output
devices may include, without limitation, a variety of display
devices that visually convey text, graphics and audio/video
information such as monitors, printers, speakers, headphones,
automotive navigation systems, plotters, voice output devices, and
modems.
[0088] Processing subsystem 410 controls the operation of computing
system 402 and may comprise one or more processing units 412, 414,
etc. A processing unit may include one or more processors,
including single core processor or multicore processors, one or
more cores of processors, or combinations thereof. In some
embodiments, processing subsystem 410 may include one or more
special purpose co-processors such as graphics processors, digital
signal processors (DSPs), or the like. In some embodiments, some or
all of the processing units of processing subsystem 410 may be
implemented using customized circuits, such as application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), or field programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs). In some embodiments, such integrated circuits execute
instructions that are stored on the circuit itself. In other
embodiments, processing unit(s) may execute instructions stored in
local storage, e.g., local storage 422, 424. Any type of processors
in any combination may be included in processing unit(s) 412,
414.
[0089] In some embodiments, processing subsystem 410 may be
implemented in a modular design that incorporates any number of
modules (e.g., blades in a blade server implementation). Each
module may include processing unit(s) and local storage. For
example, processing subsystem 410 may include processing unit 412
and corresponding local storage 422, and processing unit 414 and
corresponding local storage 424.
[0090] Local storage 422, 424 may include volatile storage media
(e.g., conventional DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or the like) and/or
non-volatile storage media (e.g., magnetic or optical disk, flash
memory, or the like). Storage media incorporated in local storage
422, 424 may be fixed, removable or upgradeable as desired. Local
storage 422, 424 may be physically or logically divided into
various subunits such as a system memory, a ROM, and a permanent
storage device. The system memory may be a read-and-write memory
device or a volatile read-and-write memory, such as dynamic random
access memory. The system memory may store some or all of the
instructions and data that processing unit(s) 412, 414 need at
runtime. The ROM may store static data and instructions that are
needed by processing unit(s) 412, 414. The permanent storage device
may be a non-volatile read-and-write memory device that may store
instructions and data even when a module including one or more
processing units 412, 414 and local storage 422, 424 is powered
down. The term "storage medium" as used herein includes any medium
in which data may be stored indefinitely (subject to overwriting,
electrical disturbance, power loss, or the like) and does not
include carrier waves and transitory electronic signals propagating
wirelessly or over wired connections.
[0091] In some embodiments, local storage 422, 424 may store one or
more software programs to be executed by processing unit(s) 412,
414, such as an operating system and/or programs implementing
various server functions such as functions of Network analytic
system 120, or any other server(s) associated with Network analytic
system 120. "Software" refers generally to sequences of
instructions that, when executed by processing unit(s) 412, 414
cause computing system 402 (or portions thereof) to perform various
operations, thus defining one or more specific machine
implementations that execute and perform the operations of the
software programs. The instructions may be stored as firmware
residing in read-only memory and/or program code stored in
non-volatile storage media that may be read into volatile working
memory for execution by processing unit(s) 412, 414. In some
embodiments the instructions may be stored by storage subsystem 468
(e.g., computer readable storage media). In various embodiments,
the processing units may execute a variety of programs or code
instructions and may maintain multiple concurrently executing
programs or processes. At any given time, some or all of the
program code to be executed may be resident in local storage 422,
424 and/or in storage subsystem including potentially on one or
more storage devices. Software may be implemented as a single
program or a collection of separate programs or program modules
that interact as desired. From local storage 422, 424 (or non-local
storage described below), processing unit(s) 412, 414 may retrieve
program instructions to execute and data to process in order to
execute various operations described above.
[0092] Storage subsystem 468 provides a repository or data store
for storing information that is used by computing system 402.
Storage subsystem 468 provides a tangible non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium for storing the basic programming
and data constructs that provide the functionality of some
embodiments. Software (programs, code modules, instructions) that
when executed by processing subsystem 410 provide the functionality
described above may be stored in storage subsystem 468. The
software may be executed by one or more processing units of
processing subsystem 410. Storage subsystem 468 may also provide a
repository for storing data used in accordance with the present
disclosure.
[0093] Storage subsystem 468 may include one or more non-transitory
memory devices, including volatile and non-volatile memory devices.
As shown in FIG. 4, storage subsystem 468 includes a system memory
460 and a computer-readable storage media 452. System memory 460
may include a number of memories including a volatile main RAM for
storage of instructions and data during program execution and a
non-volatile ROM or flash memory in which fixed instructions are
stored. In some implementations, a basic input/output system
(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer
information between elements within computing system 402, such as
during start-up, may typically be stored in the ROM. The RAM
typically contains data and/or program modules that are presently
being operated and executed by processing subsystem 410. In some
implementations, system memory 460 may include multiple different
types of memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or
dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Storage subsystem 468 may be
based on magnetic, optical, semiconductor, or other data storage
media. Direct attached storage, storage area networks,
network-attached storage, and the like may be used. Any data stores
or other collections of data disclosed herein as being produced,
consumed, or maintained by a service or server may be stored in
storage subsystem 468.
[0094] By way of example, and not limitation, as depicted in FIG.
4, system memory 460 may store application programs 462, which may
include client applications, Web browsers, mid-tier applications,
relational database management systems (RDBMS), etc., program data
464, and one or more operating systems 466. By way of example, an
example operating systems may include various versions of Microsoft
Windows.RTM., Apple Macintosh.RTM., and/or Linux operating systems,
a variety of commercially-available UNIX.RTM. or UNIX-like
operating systems (including without limitation the variety of
GNU/Linux operating systems, the Google Chrome.RTM. OS, and the
like) and/or mobile operating systems such as iOS, Windows.RTM.
Phone, Android.RTM. OS, BlackBerry.RTM. 10 OS, and Palm.RTM. OS
operating systems.
[0095] Computer-readable storage media 452 may store programming
and data constructs that provide the functionality of some
embodiments. Software (programs, code modules, instructions) that
when executed by processing subsystem 410 a processor provide the
functionality described above may be stored in storage subsystem
468. By way of example, computer-readable storage media 452 may
include non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive, a magnetic
disk drive, an optical disk drive such as a CD ROM, DVD, a
Blu-Ray.RTM. disk, or other optical media. Computer-readable
storage media 452 may include, but is not limited to, Zip.RTM.
drives, flash memory cards, universal serial bus (USB) flash
drives, secure digital (SD) cards, DVD disks, digital video tape,
and the like. Computer-readable storage media 452 may also include,
solid-state drives (SSD) based on non-volatile memory such as
flash-memory based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid state ROM,
and the like, SSDs based on volatile memory such as solid state
RAM, dynamic RAM, static RAM, DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM
(MRAM) SSDs, and hybrid SSDs that use a combination of DRAM and
flash memory based SSDs. Computer-readable media 452 may provide
storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program
modules, and other data for computing system 402.
[0096] In certain embodiments, storage subsystem 468 may also
include a computer-readable storage media reader 450 that may
further be connected to computer-readable storage media 452.
Together and, optionally, in combination with system memory 460,
computer-readable storage media 452 may comprehensively represent
remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storage
media for storing computer-readable information.
[0097] In certain embodiments, computing system 402 may provide
support for executing one or more virtual machines. Computing
system 402 may execute a program such as a hypervisor for
facilitating the configuring and managing of the virtual machines.
Each virtual machine may be allocated memory, compute (e.g.,
processors, cores), I/O, and networking resources. Each virtual
machine typically runs its own operating system, which may be the
same as or different from the operating systems executed by other
virtual machines executed by computing system 402. Accordingly,
multiple operating systems may potentially be run concurrently by
computing system 402. Each virtual machine generally runs
independently of the other virtual machines.
[0098] Communication subsystem 440 provides an interface to other
computer systems and networks. Communication subsystem 440 serves
as an interface for receiving data from and transmitting data to
other systems from computing system 402. For example, communication
subsystem 440 may enable computing system 402 to establish a
communication channel to one or more client computing devices via
the Internet for receiving and sending information from and to the
client computing devices.
[0099] Communication subsystem 440 may support both wired and/or
wireless communication protocols. For example, in certain
embodiments, communication subsystem 440 may include radio
frequency (RF) transceiver components for accessing wireless voice
and/or data networks (e.g., using cellular telephone technology,
advanced data network technology, such as 3G, 2G or EDGE (enhanced
data rates for global evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 family
standards, or other mobile communication technologies, or any
combination thereof), global positioning system (GPS) receiver
components, and/or other components. In some embodiments
communication subsystem 440 may provide wired network connectivity
(e.g., Ethernet) in addition to or instead of a wireless
interface.
[0100] Communication subsystem 440 may receive and transmit data in
various forms. For example, in some embodiments, communication
subsystem 440 may receive input communication in the form of
structured and/or unstructured data feeds, event streams, event
updates, and the like. For example, communication subsystem 440 may
be configured to receive (or send) data feeds in real-time from
users of social media networks and/or other communication services
such as Twitter.RTM. feeds, Facebook.RTM. updates, web feeds such
as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and/or real-time updates from one
or more third party information sources.
[0101] In certain embodiments, communication subsystem 440 may be
configured to receive data in the form of continuous data streams,
which may include event streams of real-time events and/or event
updates, that may be continuous or unbounded in nature with no
explicit end. Examples of applications that generate continuous
data may include, for example, sensor data applications, financial
tickers, network performance measuring tools (e.g. network
monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream
analysis tools, automobile traffic monitoring, and the like.
[0102] Communication subsystem 440 may also be configured to output
the structured and/or unstructured data feeds, event streams, event
updates, and the like to one or more databases that may be in
communication with one or more streaming data source computers
coupled to computing system 402.
[0103] Communication subsystem 440 may provide a communication
interface 442, e.g., a WAN interface, which may provide data
communication capability between the local area network (bus
subsystem 470) and a larger network, such as the Internet.
Conventional or other communications technologies may be used,
including wired (e.g., Ethernet, IEEE 802.3 standards) and/or
wireless technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11 standards).
[0104] Computing system 402 may operate in response to requests
received via communication interface 442. Further, in some
embodiments, communication interface 442 may connect computing
systems 402 to each other, providing scalable systems capable of
managing high volumes of activity. Conventional or other techniques
for managing server systems and server farms (collections of server
systems that cooperate) may be used, including dynamic resource
allocation and reallocation.
[0105] Computing system 402 may interact with various user-owned or
user-operated devices via a wide-area network such as the Internet.
An example of a user-operated device is shown in FIG. 4 as client
computing system 402. Client computing system 404 may be
implemented, for example, as a consumer device such as a smart
phone, other mobile phone, tablet computer, wearable computing
device (e.g., smart watch, eyeglasses), desktop computer, laptop
computer, and so on.
[0106] For example, client computing system 404 may communicate
with computing system 402 via communication interface 442. Client
computing system 404 may include conventional computer components
such as processing unit(s) 482, storage device 484, network
interface 480, user input device 486, and user output device 488.
Client computing system 404 may be a computing device implemented
in a variety of form factors, such as a desktop computer, laptop
computer, tablet computer, smart phone, other mobile computing
device, wearable computing device, or the like.
[0107] Processing unit(s) 482 and storage device 484 may be similar
to processing unit(s) 412, 414 and local storage 422, 424 described
above. Suitable devices may be selected based on the demands to be
placed on client computing system 404; for example, client
computing system 404 may be implemented as a "thin" client with
limited processing capability or as a high-powered computing
device. Client computing system 404 may be provisioned with program
code executable by processing unit(s) 482 to enable various
interactions with computing system 402 of a message management
service such as accessing messages, performing actions on messages,
and other interactions described above. Some client computing
systems 404 may also interact with a messaging service
independently of the message management service.
[0108] Network interface 480 may provide a connection to a wide
area network (e.g., the Internet) to which communication interface
440 of computing system 402 is also connected. In various
embodiments, network interface 480 may include a wired interface
(e.g., Ethernet) and/or a wireless interface implementing various
RF data communication standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or
cellular data network standards (e.g., 3G, 2G, LTE, etc.).
[0109] User input device 486 may include any device (or devices)
via which a user may provide signals to client computing system
404; client computing system 404 may interpret the signals as
indicative of particular user requests or information. In various
embodiments, user input device 486 may include any or all of a
keyboard, touch pad, touch screen, mouse or other pointing device,
scroll wheel, click wheel, dial, button, switch, keypad,
microphone, and so on.
[0110] User output device 488 may include any device via which
client computing system 404 may provide information to a user. For
example, user output device 488 may include a display to display
images generated by or delivered to client computing system 404.
The display may incorporate various image generation technologies,
e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED)
including organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), projection system,
cathode ray tube (CRT), or the like, together with supporting
electronics (e.g., digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital
converters, signal processors, or the like). Some embodiments may
include a device such as a touchscreen that function as both input
and output device. In some embodiments, other user output devices
488 may be provided in addition to or instead of a display.
Examples include indicator lights, speakers, tactile "display"
devices, printers, and so on.
[0111] Some embodiments include electronic components, such as
microprocessors, storage and memory that store computer program
instructions in a computer readable storage medium. Many of the
features described in this specification may be implemented as
processes that are specified as a set of program instructions
encoded on a computer readable storage medium. When these program
instructions are executed by one or more processing units, they
cause the processing unit(s) to perform various operation indicated
in the program instructions. Examples of program instructions or
computer code include machine code, such as is produced by a
compiler, and files including higher-level code that are executed
by a computer, an electronic component, or a microprocessor using
an interpreter. Through suitable programming, processing unit(s)
412, 414 and 482 may provide various functionality for computing
system 402 and client computing system 404, including any of the
functionality disclosed herein as being performed by a server or
client, or other functionality associated with message management
services.
[0112] It will be appreciated that computing system 402 and client
computing system 404 are illustrative and that variations and
modifications are possible. Computer systems used in connection
with embodiments of the present disclosure may have other
capabilities not specifically described here. Further, while
computing system 402 and client computing system 404 are described
with reference to particular blocks, it is to be understood that
these blocks are defined for convenience of description and are not
intended to imply a particular physical arrangement of component
parts. For instance, different blocks may be but need not be
located in the same facility, in the same server rack, or on the
same motherboard. Further, the blocks need not correspond to
physically distinct components. Blocks may be configured to perform
various operations, e.g., by programming a processor or providing
appropriate control circuitry, and various blocks might or might
not be reconfigurable depending on how the initial configuration is
obtained. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in
a variety of apparatus including electronic devices implemented
using any combination of circuitry and software.
[0113] While the disclosure has been described with respect to
specific embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that
numerous modifications are possible. For instance, although
specific processes are disclosed herein, other processes may be
implemented. Embodiments of the disclosure may be realized using a
variety of computer systems and communication technologies
including but not limited to specific examples disclosed
herein.
[0114] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized using
any combination of dedicated components and/or programmable
processors and/or other programmable devices. The various processes
disclosed herein may be implemented on the same processor or
different processors in any combination. Where components are
described as being configured to perform certain operations, such
configuration may be accomplished, e.g., by designing electronic
circuits to perform the operation, by programming programmable
electronic circuits (such as microprocessors) to perform the
operation, or any combination thereof. Further, while the
embodiments described above may make reference to specific hardware
and software components, those skilled in the art will appreciate
that different combinations of hardware and/or software components
may also be used and that particular operations described as being
implemented in hardware might also be implemented in software or
vice versa.
[0115] Computer programs incorporating various features of the
present disclosure may be encoded and stored on various computer
readable storage media; suitable media include magnetic disk or
tape, optical storage media such as compact disk (CD) or DVD
(digital versatile disk), flash memory, and other non-transitory
media. Computer readable media encoded with the program code may be
packaged with a compatible electronic device, or the program code
may be provided separately from electronic devices (e.g., via
Internet download or as a separately packaged computer-readable
storage medium).
[0116] Thus, although the disclosure has been described with
respect to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that the
disclosure is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents
within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *